Europe
... England ... Ireland

These photographs
were taken on my travels / stay in Europe, England and Ireland respectively.
As inspiring pictures as they are absolutely exciting places to be visiting
during the Summer (though it can get extremely hot i.e. 40 degrees was
the temperature when I was in Rome)! A rule of thumb would be to pack
light, dress light, read up a little on these places before embarking
on your journey and most importantly ... ... get that Camelbak
ready though a huge Gelato could do the trick.

Do Click
on these little thumbnails below to check out the huge picture!

the
Colosseum, ROMA

The Colosseum is
the popular name for the Flavian Amphitheatre in Rome. Situated
between the Esquiline and Palatine hills, near the southeast end
of the Forum, it was so named because the amphitheatre stood next
to a colossal, 37.2-m high (120-ft) statue (now demolished) of
Nero.

The exterior walls
were of travertine, the inner walls of tufa, and the vaulting
of the ramped seating area of monolithic concrete. Seventy-six
of the 80 bays served as entryways, so that circulation was easy.
Did you know ? - much of the travertine for St. Peter's Basilica
(in Venice) came from the Colosseum.

London
- Harrods, Knightsbridge

Take the London
Underground on Piccadilly line (west bound towards Heathrow)
and stop at Knightsbridge. Left from the station's exit (follow
directional signs in the station) and you'll see an orange building,
that's Harrods
with several floors of dedicated sections for everyone. A word
of caution though - your haversacks (no backpacks) are to be hand
carried and shoes are to be worn.

the
Eiffel Tower, Paris

If you've seen
one photo of the Eiffel Tower, I bet you've not seen it all! On
the 11th of June 98', millions watched the finals of the World
Cup hosted in France from a big screen TV located within the vicinity
of the Eiffel Towers. Guess who won?

Oxford
- England

A picture taken
at the covered market along High Street in Oxford.
This really proves and confirms the size of the turkey being used
in one of Mr. Bean's episode for Christmas. All the shops are
closed, however the poultry are left hanging outside their shop
without fear of them being stolen (obvious reasons, then again
anything is possible) as they would probably be better "frozen".
Mind you, the temperature gets extremely cold towards the early
hours.

Bavarian
beer steins and their origins.

The origins of
steins date back to the 14th century. As a result of the bubonic
plague and several invasions of flies throughout Europe shortly
thereafter, Germany established several laws in the early 16th
century requiring that all food and beverage containers be covered
to protect their contents. By combining a lid, hinge, and thumb-lift,
these 'German' containers could easily be opened and closed with
one hand.

Amsterdam
. . . "Venice of the North"

Amsterdam is the
chief city and nominal capital of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
It lies where the little IJ River flows into the Ijsselmeer (formerly
the Zuiderzee). It's name is derived from a dam once built on
the Amstel, which flows into the IJ at this point. The city lies
below sea level and is built on piles into the soft alluvial clay.

Amsterdam's greater
than 50 canals link it's landlocked harbour to the world via the
North Sea and to the interior of Europe via the Rhine River. The
extensive system of canals, totalling more than 80 km, has earned
the city it's reputation as the "Venice of the North."

Paris
- Musee du Louvre

Access to this
huge museum is via the fairly new glass pyramid structure which
leads to three sections (three ancient buildings in effect) -
"Denon", "Sully" and "Richelieu"
respectively. Taken from the courtyard, (street level) on the
left is the "Sully" section of the Louvre. With four
levels, the Louvre
presents 30,000 works of art divided into seven main collections
including both Antiquity and Western Art, from the Middle Ages
to the first part of the 19th century. The infamous Mona Lisa
by L. de Vinci is housed at Denon, 1st Floor, Area 6.

Lakes
of Killarney, county KERRY

The three main
lakes of Killarney occupy a broad valley stretching south between
the mountains. The Lower, Middle and Upper lakes, all lie within
the Killarney
National Park. What a spectacular scenery.

There are many
Brown Trout in the lakes, in addition to an annual run of Salmon.
Unusual fish species include the Arctic Char (usually found much
further north, and thought to be a relict species left behind
in Killarney after the last ice age) and the Killarney Shad (a
land locked form of the Thwaite Shad unique to the Lakes of Killarney).

Stonehenge
- in Wiltshire, England

Stonehenge is
surely Britain's greatest national icon, symbolizing mystery,
power and endurance. A unique megalithic monument on Salisbury
Plain in Wiltshire, England. It's original purpose is unclear
to us, but some have speculated that it was a temple made for
the worship of ancient earth deities. It has been called an astronomical
observatory for marking significant events on the prehistoric
calendar. Others claim that it was a sacred site for the burial
of high-ranking citizens from the societies of long ago. While
we can't say with any degree of certainty what it was for, we
can say that it wasn't constructed for any casual purpose.

warmth from Oxford

Fr
Martin & Faith - with me disrupting
them from washing the dishes after
our Ploughman's Supper (every Sunday after mass and an occasional
feast) at the chaplaincy on 62 London Road, Headington.

The
Catholic Chaplaincy - taken right after the convocation ceremony
with overwhelming support (for the entire time spent in Oxford
too) from left, Brother Simon, my Mum, Sr. Helena and Fr. Martin.

"The
hall blokes" - My goodness,
what a well choreographed picture?! We were always trying to entertain
ourselves with loads of drink to keep the Winter out and the Summer
within!

Angela
& Saskia - Hakuna Matata, the catch phrase for
this picture! Angela's now happily married and completing her
masters back in Oxford. Absolutely great voice is what I remember
when she sang. Saskia was with the University's "walking
tours" but she's now on missionary work in Africa.